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Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part B

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- Vidura helps Pandavas by telling them the evil plan so they set the guard-hose on fire to get revenge on the wicked captain Purochana. - Flames moved to the lac palace that houses a woman and her three sons which made everyone believe Kunti and the Pandavas had been killed, so Duryodhana thought he had succeeded. - Kunti and the Pandavas are now living in the forest again - Many demons tried to kill them - Hidimbi, a female demon, begs Kunti to have Bhima marry her. - Bhima defeats her brother, and they get married. They had a son Ghatotkacha, that stayed with the rakshasas and promised to help the Pandavas whenever needed. - Bhima helps the citizens of a town called Ekachakra by defeating their ruler Baka, whom demanded blood-tax. - Drupada has two children through supernatural birth (ritual). - There is a swayamwara to decide the daughters (Draupadi) husband - Kunti and the Pandavas, disguised as brahmins, attend - Drupada secretly longed for Arjuna to be his daughters hu...

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

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- King named Uparichara, king of Chedi - Gods thought he wanted their power so they sent Indra to bribe him with a crystal car. - He was flying through the sky and his semen fell into the river and was swallowed by a fish - The fish had two children when caught by a fisherman. A boy and a girl - The king took the boy, but the girl was reared by the fisherman's wife. - Girl was pretty, but smelled fishy - Her name was Satyavati - Rishi persuaded the girl to yield to him and promised she would remain a virgin and lose her smell - She smelt so good you could smell her seven miles away - A child was born on an island, Vyasa. - Devavrata, or Bhishma, son of King Shantanu and goddess Ganga. - The son had the power of the eight gods known as Vasus - King Shantanu falls in love with Satyavati after being deserted by  the goddess Ganga. - Devavrata vowed to never become king if Satyavati would go be his fathers queen - The gods gave him the name Bhishma, which means terrible, ...